The Best New Burgers in NYC, with GIFs

Keeping up with the burger game in NYC is a full-time sport—in just the past seven days, we’ve seen the makings of a Asian-inspired burger truck, and heard about about five new late-night burger specials we need to try. And that’s just an average week.

High rents ensure that just about every restaurant creates a burger to lure in punters and bolster the bottom line, but many chefs are competitive and ambitious enough to take the task seriously. Meanwhile, the landscape continues to evolve, with newcomers storming the scene in every category (Shake Shack challengers, high-end steakhouse burgers, and so on) and some classics losing their luster—Corner Bistro has been way off the mark in recent experience, and so far the Greenwich Village spinoff of Burger Joint has been erratic, suggesting that maybe it’s been propped up by the alluring secrecy of the original location.

To save you the artery-clogging work of finding the new contenders that can hang with the old standard-bearers, we’ve been on a monthlong burger bender to discover the best patties that have hit menus in the past 12 months. And to show you the techniques that make them shine, we made some very graphic GIFs along the way.

Enter at your own risk—here are our 10 ten favorite new burgers in NYC, with GIFs that might turn you into a slobbering, stammering lunatic.

All photos and GIFs by Liz Barclay (@liz_barclay)
Keeping up with the burger game in NYC is a full-time sport—in just the past seven days, we've seen the makings of a cured pork-and-beef Filipino gastropub burger, witnessed the launch of an Asian-inspired burger truck, and heard about about five new late-night burger specials we need to try. And that's just an average week.
High rents ensure that just about every restaurant creates a burger to lure in punters and bolster the bottom line, but many chefs are competitive and ambitious enough to take the task seriously. Meanwhile, the landscape continues to evolve, with newcomers storming the scene in every category (Shake Shack challengers, high-end steakhouse burgers, and so on) and some classics losing their luster—Corner Bistro has been way off the mark in recent experience, and so far the Greenwich Village spinoff of Burger Joint has been erratic, suggesting that maybe it's been propped up by the alluring secrecy of the original location.
To save you the artery-clogging work of finding the new contenders that can hang with the old standard-bearers, we've been on a monthlong burger bender to discover the best patties that have hit menus in the past 12 months. And to show you the techniques that make them shine, we made some very graphic GIFs along the way.
Enter at your own risk—here are our 10 ten favorite new burgers in NYC, with GIFs that might turn you into a slobbering, stammering lunatic.

Late-night burger at Maialino

The specs: Griddled black Angus patty on a toasted rosemary bun with gorgonzola, house-cured black pepper pancetta, and escarole
Neighborhood: Gramercy
Price: $15
Available: Nightly 10:30pm-midnight
Rosemary bun? Gorgonzola? Pancetta? Limited availability? On paper, you want to hate this sandwich this so much—another fancy-pants chef burger to spend too much money on when you're already drunk. But then you remember that the chef in question is Nick Anderer, who has nailed everything from happy-hour fried potato skins to coniglio al forgo at Danny Meyer's Roman trattoria—thankfully, this vaguely Italian-inspired creation keeps the streak of hits intact. Despite all of the in-your-face ingredients, the juicy patty more than holds its own here, and all the elements are exceptionally well-balanced, from the faint tang of creamy gorgonzola to the subtle hit of rosemary in the delicious, extra-buttery bun. The star of the show, though, is the griddled pancetta, which infuses the burger with porky flavor, sans the overwhelming smokiness you often get from bacon. 2 Lexington Ave (212-777-2410; maialinonyc.com)

The Standard at Clarke's Standard

The specs: Griddled, heritage-breed Black Angus beef on a St. Joseph's roll with American cheese, tomato, red leaf lettuce, and special standard sauce
Neighborhood: Various locations
Price: $7.50
Available: Daily 10am-11pm
Do we really need another high-concept burger restaurant, like this self-consciously old-fashioned minichain with locations in the Financial District and Midtown East, and another coming soon to Columbus Circle? Probably not, but Clarke's Standard—a casual spinoff of the P.J. Clarke's brand—is one that's worth giving a chance. Aside from a few unconventional options (charred green chilies, cracked pepper sauce), the formula is no different from many other upgraded fast-casual burgers: Griddled patties, straightforward toppings, and so on. But two elements give Clarke's its own swag: First and most important is the tremendous St. Joseph's roll, which is something like the love child of a kaiser roll and a standard white-bread bun, with just enough oomph to feel like a player rather than a meat delivery system. The loose grind and juicy interior on the patties is also notable, with a nice pinkish hue still letting you know you're eating beef with a bit of pedigree. clarkes-standard.com

Bacon cheeseburger Cafe Cluny

The specs: Grilled LaFrieda custom-blend patty with cheese (cheddar, Gruyere, or Roquefort), Nature's Choice applewood-smoked bacon, butter lettuce, tomato, and red onion on an Amy's Bread sesame roll
Neighborhood: West Village
Price: $20
Available: Lunch and dinner
Cafe Cluny, a well-established neighborhood joint for moneyed West Village residents, recently shook things up by hiring talented chef Phillip Kirschen-Clark (of the now-shuttered Vandaag) to take over the kitchen. He's playing with the bistro rubric to put out some innovative dishes, like raw, cooked, and pickled carrots covered with a sheen of melted foie gras, and housemade mozzarella with shredded chillies and black-garlic toast. But this is the type of place where sometimes you just want a burger, and Kirschen-Clark obliges with a pretty spectacular one. Before you devour it (and you won't be able to stop yourself), take moment to nibble a bit of the patty on its own—that extra punch of flavor on the crust comes from chopped garlic and olive oil that season the meat before it hits the grill. The bloody interior is delicious as well, with just the right amount of minerally richness. With a criss-cross pattern of smoky bacon across the top and a well-chosen bun from Amy's, it's a rich-guy bistro burger that can ride with the best. 284 W 12th St (212-255-6900, cafecluny.com)

Griddled TM Burger at the Marrow

The specs: A LaFrieda-blend patty (with plenty of brisket and short rib) on a house-made pretzel bun with Emmental, sherry onions, and melted bone marrow
Neighborhood: West Village
Price: $17
Available: Lunch and brunch
The biggest problem with this burger being limited to lunch and brunch is that you'll almost certainly need to lie down for several hours after eating it. Marrying sheer decadence with the Mitteleuropean theme of Harold Dieterle's new spot, the TM Burger is the Germanic heir to Daniel Boulud's famous foie gras-stuffed patty at db Bistro Moderne. The fatty brisket-short rib-chuck blend caramelizes nicely in a cast-iron pan before getting hit with a massive scoop of bone marrow and basted in the fatty juices that melt all over it. A similarly insane amount of sweet, nutty Emmental swaddles the patty and secures the mound of bone marrow, which is enriched even further with onions cooked in sherry. The soft-pretzel bun, created specifically for the burger by pastry chef Ginger Fisher, is yeasty and robust enough to stand up to the onslaught, but what's most impressive about this burger is that the beef still manages to shine through all the supercharged flavors. Also impressive: Anyone who can finish this beast. 99 Bank St (212-428-6000, themarrownyc.com)

Double cheeseburger at Blue Collar Burger

The specs: Griddled Angus-beef patty in a Martin's potato bun with lettuce, American cheese, pickles, beefsteak tomatoes, and raw onions
Neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Price: $6.25
Available: Lunch and dinner, and late-night (until 2am) on Friday and Saturday
Let's address the elephant in the room and agree that Blue Collar is an exceedingly corny name for a restaurant in post-gentrification Williamsburg. It's wise to ignore this indiscretion, however, because once you're inside you'll find that this no-frills counter-service spot is doing the humble American patty tradition proud. Out in the land of no Shake Shacks, this is the place for the cheap, roadside-style burger we all crave from time to time (the snack-size single is only $4). Here, you can forget high-minded sourcing and designer butchers and just get busy with a tray of burgers, fries, and shakes. The 3.5-ounce patties are pressed thin on the flat-top for a nice sear, and from there it's a textbook finish: American cheese, straightforward but fresh toppings in the right proportions, and a griddled Martin's potato bun to squish it all together. 160 Havemeyer St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (347-725-3837)

Patty melt at Parish Hall

The specs: House-ground patty with lamb bacon inside a Northside Bakery rye melt with Landaff Creamery cheese and grilled onions
Neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Price: $15
Available: Lunch, dinner, and brunch
Burger obsessives love to see a patty melt on a menu—a throwback to the diner counters of yore, and a refreshing change of pace from the status quo. At Parish Hall, the spinoff of George Weld's beloved Egg, the genre may have reached it pinnacle through a combination of impeccable locally sourced ingredients (much of the restaurant's produce comes Weld's own farm) and smart tweaks on the old burger-inside-a-grilled-cheese formula. With sustainability in mind, the kitchen solves the question of how to use less meat while not losing any flavor. It starts with the grind, built from house-butchered sides of beef then kick up with lamb bacon. The patty is then swabbed with mustard and griddled (a la In-N-Out), then tucked into a pressed sandwich of rustic rye toast, milky Landaff cheese, and grilled onions. As with any great patty melt, the end result is all about texture as you bite through the crunchy bread into the rich layer of onions and cheese, and finally the meaty center. 109 N 3rd St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-782-2602, parishhall.net)

Cheeseburger at Calliope

The specs: A grilled Pino's Prime Meats patty on a Hot Bread Kitchen ciabatta, topped with aged Vermont cheddar, beefsteak tomato, red onion, lettuce, pickles, and homemade mayo
Neighborhood: East Village
Price: $15
Available: Lunch and weekend brunch
Sit on the sidewalk at this airy, quietly elegant brasserie and enjoy this surprise hit, which works despite its refusal to follow the standard American playbook. You might feel an inkling of dread when you read ciabatta on the menu, and it will surely build as you see that it is far larger than the burger patty. But have no fear: Press down on the bread and that beefy, salt-crusted disc will unleash its juices into the interior of the chewy roll, and the irresponsibly large mound of just-melted Vermont cheddar on top will distribute throughout and meld perfectly with the meat. It's as much a bistro sandwich as it is a burger, which makes it ideal for brunch, when you want easy appeal without feeling like a gluttonous slob. 84 E 4th St (212-260-8484; calliopenyc.com)

Bacon cheeseburger at the Beagle

The specs: Pat LaFrieda patty (chuck, brisket, short rib) with white American cheese, Nueske's bacon, pickles, onion, and Bibb lettuce on a Pain D'Avignon brioche bun
Neighborhood: East Village
Price: $15
Available: Dinner and late-night
This is easily the best burger we've ever had at a cocktail bar, so straight off the bat it's got that going for it. But the Beagle's burger has more to recommend it than simply best-in-class bragging rights: The West Coast-inspired elements—a thinner patty that's pan-fried before finishing in the oven, plus In-N-Out–inspired Thousand Island sauce—bolster the appeal, while the ever-divisive brioche bun actually works well here, perhaps because it has more in common with challah than the dry, flaky monstrosities that give the genre a bad name. Take advantage of the opportunity to have a top-notch cocktail with your burger by pairing it with something brown-and-stirred, like the spicy Monte Carlo (rye, Benedictine, bitters; $13). 162 Avenue A (212-228-6900, thebeaglenyc.com)

Shake Shack SmokeShack™

The specs: Pat LaFrieda all-natural Angus beef patty, griddled and tucked into a buttered Martin's potato roll with Niman Ranch applewood-smoked bacon, chopped cherry peppers, and ShackSauce
Neighborhood: Various locations
Price: Single 6.25, double $8.80
Available: Lunch and dinner
The SmokeStack made its debut at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival early last year, then showed up as a special from time to time at NYC Shake Shacks before making it onto the regular menu, where it's finally settled into its well-deserved spot. As with all Shack Shack creations, this one is all about the overall package—a squishy, beefy, buttery amalgamation of ingredients that all tie together brilliantly. Along to the givens—great crust on the patty, oozing globs of American cheese—the SmokeStack ramps up the flavor with crispy strips of applewood-smoked bacon and a spicy cherry-pepper relish that cuts through the richness. Summer is prime Shack season, and this bad boy will definitely be in regular rotation. shakeshack.com

Coles Burger at Coles

The specs: Pat LaFrieda custom-blend patty with Grafton cheddar, butter lettuce, tomato, and housemade pickles on an Amy's Bread onion-dill roll
Neighborhood: West Village
Price: $18
Available: Lunch and dinner
This West Village newcomer is all about classic American bistro fare, and namesake burger—developed by chef Daniel Eardley—fits the scene perfectly: Unfussy, well-executed, and yes, a bit too expensive. The key tweak here is eighty-sixing the common brioche bun in favor of a hearty onion-dill roll from Amy's Bread which is crisped up with butter on the griddle, lending a satisfying crunch to each bite. The hefty patty—a blend of chuck, brisket, and sirloin, with some "house trim" to boost the flavor—is not cooked to the tartare-like consistency of so many fancy burgers today, but instead delivers the deeply satisfying beefy flavor of a classic NYC bar burger—something that almost feels nostalgic amid the current trend for dry-aged funk. Creamy one-year-old Grafton and excellent bread-and-butter pickles complete the package. Have it with a cold Coke or a beer and find happiness in this cold, cold world. 118 Greenwich Ave (212-242-5966, colesgreenwichvillage.com)

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